Jealousy
by Shadow Hylian
Summary: After everything that had happened, it hurt to know that the Hero would always put the Princess before him. SheikLinkZel. Jealous!Sheik.


Disclaimer: The Legend of Zelda is the property of Nintendo. I do not on anything.

Summary: After everything that had happened, it hurt to know that the Hero would always put the Princess before him. SheikLinkZel. Jealous!Sheik.

Shadow Hylian: I wanted to write a SheikLinkZel triangle ficlet, so I though a Jealous!Sheik prompt would work well. Quite angsty, but that comes as standard in a Shink fic.

Sheik is male in this ficlet, meaning this is a Shounen Ai piece. If you're uncomfortable with that, turn back now.

Warnings: Shounen Ai, Zelda!Hate and references to self-harming.

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Jealousy

The lone occupant of the cottage curled in on himself agitatedly, red eyes flickering towards the single candle burning away on top of the mantelpiece, the remainder of the wick casting a dim, insufficient light over the room as the candle reached the end of its use.

The grate lay empty, unused. No firewood was stacked beside it, almost as if the occupant had neglected to keep the fire stocked. The window panes rattled against their frames as the wind raged outside, heavy rain streaming down the glass, an overhanging branch scraping occasionally against the pane.

The red-eyed man cast his eyes down towards, as if only just realising his actions, to his unbound right arm which bore many vertical cuts and incisions carved into his skin with far too much precision to be coincidental. Trails of blood drawn from the wound ran freely down the figure's forearm, pooling in the crook of his elbow and dripping from the joint.

Red eyes flickered towards the door, his expression hardening, upper lip curling into a snarl. His left hand clenched around the bloodied Senbon angrily as his recurring thought surfaced again.

He was with her. It was like a raw nerve being struck.

The figure gripped the weapon, holding it aloft before sinking the needle into his right arm, feeling a kind of vindictive pleasure as he watched the crimson liquid seep from the wound in a detached manner.

He was distracted by the creak of the wooden door, a sudden gust of wind as Link strode through the doorway, shaking the rain from his travelling cloak and walked into the room. The red-eyed man wondered if the Hero even realised he was there when he did not approach where he sat and instead crouched down beside the grate, stoking the fire instead of going to his side.

The figure watched for several moments, waiting for the Hero's response as Link coaxed the fire into life, bathing the room in a warm orange glow. As the flames crackled and burned, the Hero removed his dripping wet cloak and gloves, hanging them on the stand before removing his hat and shaking out his hair.

And last, he sat down by the Sheikah's side.

"I'm back..." he murmured, his velvety tone of complete serenity doing nothing to stem the anger that the Sheikah felt for him at that moment. The Hero knew he would have hurt him by going to see the Princess, yet he did not seem concerned by this.

Sheik gave no reply, instead asking his own question. "How was the High Order of Sages' meeting?" the scathing bitterness could not be suppressed from his voice.

"You're still mad at me for going..." it was more of a statement than anything. "Sheik, it's part of my job. You know I have to go to the Princess' side for these meetings."

Sheik sneered at his attempt to reason. Of course; Link's title as the Hero of Time made him a noble, even though he was of common birth. Compared to the Hero and the Princess Zelda, he was lower than a sewer rat.

He knew all too well that everyone had expected the Hero and the Princess to fall in love and marry. It was one of those sickeningly false fairytales, a clichéd ideal where everyone had a happy ending. But if it ever became public that the Hero had a male lover, who was also one of the despised Sheikah there would be an outcry.

So he was kept hidden, like some shameful, disgusting secret and was never spoken of. Everything continued as normal and Sheik never saw the light of day. He hated it.

It infuriated him. Even after everything that had happened, after all the lies and deceit and after Zelda had tried to stop them from being together, he still went to her side, the Princess' ever faithful hound.

"Sheik..." the Hero chided in a wearied tone, his lips moving against Sheik's neck, trying to engage his attention. The red-eyed man shrugged off his touch, but the Hero took hold of his arms, accidentally brushing against his wounds and he flinched.

"You've been cutting yourself again..." Link's concern was sincere, but it troubled Sheik. After all, he was the one masking his emotions more frequently than the Sheikah was nowadays. "You need to stop doing this to yourself, you'll only cause me to worry."

"I'm fine." was the irritable reply as Sheik moved away from the Hero, getting to his feet and looking out of the window into the storm still raging outside.

Sheik had wondered occasionally if he was little more than a habit that Link was unwilling to break off. It made the Sheikah worry if the Hero only stayed by his side out of obligation.

In truth, he didn't know what he could believe anymore. It hurt to think about it.

"What's wrong?"

"You know perfectly well what wrong! It's _her_! You were with _her_ again!" he had rounded on the Hero as he screamed the words, surprising himself with the intensity of his voice. He hadn't intended to shout, he didn't want to show that it hurt him when the Hero chose to go to the princess instead of being by his side.

Sheik's crimson glare locked onto the Hero's eyes, challenging him to contradict his statement. Those eyes, crystalline blue orbs that could capture his soul, enchant him so easily...

He hated him, but loved him more.

No answer. The Hero did not speak to the Sheikah, just looked at him sadly. He understood why the Sheikah did not trust the Princess. He understood his insecurities, but this had to stop.

"...I'm sorry." Sheik spoke as he looked away, feeling the regret of his actions weigh heavily on his mind," I know I need to stop blaming her, but I can't help it. I can't trust her." he tried to explain. If he kept acting like this, he would only succeed in pushing the Hero away from him.

"Shhh, it's okay..." the Hero consoled the Sheikah, enveloping him in his arms. "Don't worry about that anymore, she won't send me away."

As the Hero's words soothed his mind, Sheik leaned into his lover's touch, feeling truly content in what felt like an eternity, their dispute settled.

It was all in the past.

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Shadow Hylian: As usual, feedback is very much appreciated, so review please!


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